Navdy, a San Francisco-based startup, announced a breakthrough Head-Up Display (HUD) aftermarket car console that allows drivers to access their smartphone’s apps while keeping their eyes on the road.
Drivers are three times more likely to get into an accident when they take their eyes off the road to look down at a touchscreen. Built-in consoles like Android Auto and Apple Carplay are just bigger touchscreens that do nothing to solve the problem.
“Smartphones were never designed to be used while driving.” said Navdy co-founder and CEO Doug Simpson. “Touch-based apps clearly force you to take your eyes off the road. So we started by completely rethinking what the experience of using apps behind the wheel should feel like. Navdy is built from the ground up to be the safest and most intuitive way to make calls, use navigation, listen to music or access notifications without ever looking away from the road.”
READ MORE to learn about Navdy's offerings
Statistics suggest some areas of the U.S. inherently breed more cautious drivers, while others tend to spawn some of the most accident-prone motor-vehicle operators on the road.
If auto safety is your number one vehicular priority, move to Ft. Collins, CO, which boasts the safest drivers in the nation according to the annual America’s Best Driver’s Report conducted by Allstate Insurance Co.
READ MORE to find out the 10 best and the 10 worst.
Virtually all new vehicles rely on voice recognition to help operate the increasing number of high-tech features. The problem is that voice recognition systems often fail. A command to change the radio channel is misinterpreted and the navigation screen is suddenly flooded with icons for gas stations and restaurants. After repeatedly struggling to find an address on the main street in a major city, a motorist gives up and plugs the information into their smartphone.
The new J.D. Power 2014 Multimedia Quality and Satisfaction Study reports that voice recognition has become the single largest source of complaints about new vehicles. Problems pairing smartphones to a vehicle’s Bluetooth system is the second most common problem
With leasing continuing to gain momentum, CNW Research compared the contract residual value projection with the likely actual value at the end of term.
CNW firm analysts found that last month’s industry average settled at 85.88 percent — a figure representing the difference between the actual contract and the eventual actual sale price. That average has been on a steady rise since the beginning of the year when CNW pegged it at 84.65 percent back in January.
Of the six automakers included in the latest report, three brands had their level come in above the average mark, and three other badges settle below it.
READ MORE about the findings
Having your car repaired after an accident is never fun, but some of the pain can be alleviated by an efficient garage offering speedy service. Believe it or not, such places do exist, and new data from Enterprise shows where to find them.
Enterprise's data comes from its Automated Rental Management System (ARMS). That's a software solution designed by Enterprise to facilitate communication between garages, customers, insurance companies, and Enterprise, "enabling shops to send electronic rental reservations, vehicle status updates and automated text or email customer notifications".
READ MORE to find out how each state fares.